Fürth (; East Franconian: ; ) is a city in northern Bavaria, Germany, in the administrative division (Regierungsbezirk) of Middle Franconia. It is now contiguous with the larger city of Nuremberg, the centres of the two cities being only apart.
Fürth is one of 23 "major centres" in Bavaria. Fürth, Nuremberg, Erlangen and some smaller towns form the "Middle Franconian Conurbation", which is one of the 11 German metropolitan regions.
Fürth celebrated its thousand year anniversary in 2007, its first mention being on 1 November 1007.
Geography
The historic centre of the town is to the east and south of the rivers Rednitz and Pegnitz, which join to form the Regnitz to the northwest of the Old Town. To the west of the town, on the far side of the Main-Danube Canal, is the Fürth municipal forest (Fürther Stadtwald). To the east of Fürth, at roughly the same latitude, lies Nuremberg, and to the north is the fertile market-gardening area known as the Knoblauchsland (garlic country), some of which is within the borders of the urban district of Fürth. To the south of the town is an area consisting of wide roads, the canal, and meadows.
Neighbouring municipalities
The following towns and municipalities share borders with Fürth; they are listed in clockwise order, starting in the north:
Erlangen and Nuremberg, which are independent urban districts; Stein, Oberasbach, Zirndorf, Cadolzburg, Seukendorf, Veitsbronn, and Obermichelbach, which are municipalities within the rural district (Landkreis) of Fürth.
Parts of town
Beyond the town proper, the urban district comprises another 20 localities:
Atzenhof
Bislohe
Braunsbach
Burgfarrnbach
Dambach
Flexdorf
Herboldshof
Kronach
Mannhof
Oberfürberg
Poppenreuth
Ritzmannshof
Ronhof
Sack
Stadeln
Steinach
Unterfarrnbach
Unterfürberg
Vach
Weikershof
History
Founded as a Franconian settlement in the mid-8th century AD, the first historical mention of Fürth was in a document dated 1 November 1007, in which the Emperor Heinrich II donated his property in Fürth to the newly created Bishopric of Bamberg. The name "Fürth" derives from the German word for "ford", as the first settlements originated around a ford. In the following years, Fürth was granted market privileges, but these were later lost to the neighbouring Nuremberg, under Heinrich III. From 1062 onward, Fürth was again permitted to have a market, but by that time Nuremberg was already the more important town.
In the following centuries, the town was under varying authority, involving the Bishopric of Bamberg, the Principality of Ansbach and the City of Nuremberg. For a long time, the character of the settlement remained largely agricultural, and in 1600 the population was probably still only between 1000 and 2000.
In the Thirty Years War, the village was almost completely destroyed by fire, in military actions leading up to the September 1632 Battle of Fürth.
In 1835, the first German railway was opened between Nuremberg and Fürth.
Throughout the Cold War, Fürth had a significant NATO presence, especially the U.S. Army, due to its proximity to both the East German and Czechoslovak borders.
Expansion
In the course of time, a number of municipalities or other administrative divisions were integrated into the urban district of Fürth:
1 January 1899: the western part of the municipality of Höfen, including Weikershof (to the south of the Schwabacher Straße) 1 January 1900: the municipality of Poppenreuth (to the east of the historic centre of the city, on the far side of the river Pegnitz) 1 January 1901: the municipality of Dambach (to the west of the current Südstadt (South Town), as well as Unterfürberg and Oberfürberg 1 January 1918: Atzenhof (to the north-west, on the right bank of the River Zenn between Unterfarrnbach and Vach) 1 January 1918: the municipality of Unterfarrnbach (to the west, on the bank of the river Farrnbach) 3 December 1923: the municipality of Burgfarrnbach (to the north-west, on the far side of the canal, not contiguous with Fürth proper) 1 July 1927: the municipality of Ronhof, and Kronach 1 July 1972: the municipality of Sack, including Bislohe, which is north of the Knoblauchsland and is not separately listed in official documents. 1 July 1972: the municipality of Stadeln 1 July 1972: the municipality of Vach (to the north of Fürth, north of the river Zenn and west of river Regnitz 1 July 1972: Herboldshof and Steinach, previously parts of the municipality of Boxdorf